Appearance and Character

Petyr had been slight and short for his age as a boy, and nearing his thirties, he is still a short man of slender build. Petyr has sharp features, a small pointed beard on his chin, and dark hair with threads of grey running through it.[2][4] He has laughing gray-green eyes[2][6] like a cat,[7] but Sansa Stark notes that when Petyr laughs, his eyes do not.[4] His breath is always fresh,[5] smelling like mint,[4] which he had enjoyed chewing as a boy.[8]

Petyr has always been cunning and clever. As a child, he was bold, always getting into trouble,[8] but was also capable of looking contrite after his mischiefs.[2] While Petyr was born to the small and insignificant House Baelish, he is a subtle and ambitious man[9][7] whose intelligence helped him advance in terms of power and status.[10] He possesses considerable skill in commerce and coin, as well as manipulation, and has a gift for political improvisation. He is often underestimated by many high lords due to his low birth.[7] According to George R. R. Martin, "Everybody trusts him because he seems powerless, and he's very friendly, and he's very helpful."[11] Despite this, Tyrion Lannister considers Petyr to be a dangerous man.[6]

Petyr owns a slashed velvet doublet in cream-and-silver,[12] a plum-colored doublet with a mockingbird embroidered on the breast in black thread,[13] a blue velvet tunic with puffed sleeves,[14] and a black velvet doublet with grey sleeves.[15] He is partial to shades of rose and plum.[7][16] His cloaks, which are clasped with a silver mockingbird,[2] include grey silk trimmed with black fox,[12] stripes of black and white,[13] and a pattern of mockingbirds.[16] Petyr also owns a yellow satin cape[7] and a silver cape[17] patterned with mockingbirds.[14][18]

Petyr was raised alongside Hoster Tully's children, Catelyn, Lysa and Edmure. Because of Petyr's family holdings and his short stature, Edmure gave him the nickname "Littlefinger," by which he is still called.[2] Petyr grew close to the Tully children,[7] and used to play with Edmure[20] as well as Catelyn and Lysa; Catelyn recalls how she and Lysa once made mud pies, which Petyr ate, resulting in him being sick for a week.[21] When he had a problem, Petyr went to Lord Hoster's brother, Ser Brynden Tully, just as Lord Hoster's children were wont to do.[22] Petyr accompanied Hoster on at least one journey that he made, to Seagard.[23][24] As the children grew older, Petyr fell in love with Catelyn,[4] who was several years his elder. She did not reciprocate those feelings, loving him as a brother instead.[2][23] Catelyn's younger sister, Lysa, on the other hand, fell in love with Petyr.[25] Petyr would play at kissing with both Catelyn and Lysa in the godswood of Riverrun, attempting to stick his tongue into their mouths - which Catelyn halted, but Lysa both allowed and enjoyed.[8]

When Catelyn's betrothal to Brandon Stark, the heir to Winterfell, was announced,[10] Lords Bracken and Blackwood were at Riverrun to settle a feud with Lord Tully's help. Catelyn and Petyr danced six dances that night, but when he tried to kiss her, she pushed him away and laughed at him. Wounded by the rejection, Petyr got drunk, passed out at the table, and was brought to his bed by Brynden Tully. Lysa snuck in after him, and gave Petyr her maidenhead that night. Still drunk, Petyr believed he was having sex with Catelyn, and even called out "Cat."[10][25]

In 282 AC, when the date of Catelyn's wedding was announced,[10] Petyr, scarcely fifteen years old, challenged the twenty-year-old Brandon Stark to a duel for her hand.[2] He arrived with only a helm, breastplate and mail, leading to Brandon taking off most of his own armor. Petyr asked Catelyn for her favor to wear, but she refused, giving it to Brandon instead.[25][26] Catelyn begged Brandon not to kill Petyr, to which he agreed. While Brandon offered Petyr multiple chances to yield, Petyr refused to give up. In the end, Petyr was staggering and bleeding from a dozen wounds, when Brandon ended the battle with a backhand cut so brutal Catelyn was convinced it was mortal.[26]

Petyr was given a fortnight to recover at Riverrun, during which time Lysa helped care for him. Catelyn did not go to see him, and Petyr refused to see Edmure, who had served as Brandon's squire during the duel.[26][27] During this fortnight, Petyr slept with Lysa again.[10] He would later claim to have taken the maidenhood of both Tully sisters, due to his belief that his first encounter with Lysa had actually been with Catelyn.[7][23][28]

When the fortnight had passed and Petyr was strong enough, Lord Hoster sent Petyr away from Riverrun. Catelyn did not say goodbye to him.[26] However, Lysa had become pregnant with Petyr's child as a result of their second sexual encounter. After Petyr had been sent away, Lysa revealed her pregnancy to her father, hoping he would relent and allow Lysa and Petyr to marry. Instead, Hoster, who had believed Petyr to be too lowborn,[5] forced Lysa to drink moon tea to abort the pregnancy.[29]

Appointment to the small council

Back at the Fingers, Petyr sent Catelyn a single letter after the death of her betrothed, Brandon. However, she burned the letter without reading it, and they would not see each other for many years to come.[2] Catelyn married Lord Eddard Stark during Robert's Rebellion,[30][29] and went north to Winterfell after the conclusion of the war.[31] Petyr used to dream about Winterfell, always imagining it as a dark and cold place.[25]

During his time at court, Petyr continued his relationship with Lysa, who, as the wife to the Hand, had been living in King's Landing as well.[5][10] When Lysa learns that her husband plans to send their son, Robert Arryn, away to be fostered at Dragonstone by Lord Stannis Baratheon, it is Petyr who provides her with the poison she uses to kill Lord Jon. He also convinces her to send a message to her sister Catelyn at Winterfell, in which she accuses Queen Cersei and House Lannister of the murder of her husband.[25][31]

Petyr fetches Eddard to meet with his wife and is able to convince him, against his inclination, to make no move against the Lannisters until they have proof. He vows to assist Ned in finding Jon Arryn's killer,[32] and during Ned's tenure as Hand of the King feigns friendship to him on behalf of his fondness for Catelyn. He superficially attempts to tutor Ned in the intrigues of the court and warns Ned not to trust anyone, including himself.[33]

When King Robert I learns that the exiled Princess Daenerys Targaryen is pregnant, Baelish agrees with Robert in advocating her assassination. Ned Stark resigns as Hand in protest of Robert's command, but before he can arrange to travel back to Winterfell, Petyr approaches him with the promise of assistance in his investigation into Jon Arryn's death.[12] He leads Ned to a brothel where a young whore is raising one of Robert's bastard children. He is present when Ned is accosted by men led by Ser Jaime Lannister while returning from the city shortly thereafter.[34]

After King Robert's mortal wounding and his subsequent naming of Eddard as Regent and Lord Protector, Baelish advises Ned that despite their knowledge that Queen Cersei Lannister's children are illegitimate and that Lord Stannis Baratheon is the legal heir, the wisest course of action is to ensure Joffrey's succession, a maneuver calculated to avoid all-out war and maximize their own power. Eddard refuses the suggestion and enlists Petyr's help in securing the allegiance of the city watch to ensure its loyalty when he moves against Cersei.[14] Baelish agrees, but betrays Ned, bribing the City Watch to support the queen. This leads to Stark's arrest[18] and eventual execution for treason.[17]

After the majority of Eddard's followers in King's Landing are killed following Eddard's arrest,[35] Petyr takes Jeyne Poole into his custody.[36]

A Clash of Kings

Upon arriving at King's Landing to serve as Hand of the King while Lord Tywin Lannister is in the field, Tyrion Lannister realizes Petyr is more dangerous than he had previously known.[6] Tyrion learns about Petyr's past, learning how Petyr came to be on the small council, naming Petyr a "master juggler" when referring to his skill at finances, and noting on the fact that Petyr, due to his low birth and the way he presents himself, is not seen as a threat by anyone.[7] Realizing Petyr has many of his own men placed into multiple positions, Tyrion decides not to make a move against Petyr concerning the lie he told about Tyrion's involvement in the attack on Bran Stark's life, until he can find a way to replace those men with his own.[7]

During a meeting of the small council, following the proclamation of Stannis Baratheon that Cersei Lannister's children were born out of incest, Petyr proposes they "fight" Stannis's claims by spreading rumors of their own, suggesting they spread the news that Stannis's daughter Shireen was fathered by Patchface, Stannis's fool at Dragonstone.[37]

Petyr maintains contact with Sansa Stark via Ser Dontos Hollard, who vaguely informs Sansa of a secret plan to return her home. Petyr also acquires key informants in the crown's inner circle in Osney, Osfryd, and Osmund Kettleblack, who are hired to guard Queen Cersei Lannister after Tyrion send her guards away. Tyrion believes that the Kettleblack brothers are in his pay, when in truth their allegiance is to Petyr.[5]

Petyr's newfound status as a high lord gives him the necessary standing to be considered by Tywin for a marriage to the widowed Lysa Arryn with the intent of delivering the Vale of Arryn, which has remained neutral, to the crown without violence. Petyr agrees with the plan and is sent to the Eyrie to woo Lysa, believing that to be an easy task given their history. Tyrion Lannister is appointed as master of coin upon Petyr's departure. He warns Cersei and Kevan that Petyr's scheming and wealth makes him dangerous even to their family, despite the Lannisters' gold.[9]

Though Petyr has left King's Landing, he does not go immediately to the Vale, and instead remains near the city until after the wedding between Joffrey and Margaery, in which King Joffrey I is killed.[42] In the ensuing chaos, Sansa is spirited out of the city by Dontos Hollard and taken to a ship where Petyr awaits her. Petyr has Dontos killed, explaining to Sansa that she will be wanted in connection with Joffrey's death and that Dontos's death is the only sure way to know he will remain silent. He then goes on to explain his role in Joffrey's murder, having plotted it with Olenna Tyrell. He reveals that the involvement of the hairnet laced with black amethysts that Dontos had insisted Sansa wear to the feast. The amethysts were in reality the strangler, the poison used to kill Joffrey; Sansa had unwittingly smuggled them into the feast. Petyr also brags of his involvement in arranging a set of jousting dwarfs as entertainment, which he explains were calculated to bring Tyrion Lannister into conflict with Joffrey just prior to Joffrey's death. Confident that Tyrion will be executed, he notes to Sansa that widowhood will become her.[43]

With Sansa at his side, Petyr has her hair dyed and gives her the assumed identity of Alayne Stone, his bastard daughter. They travel on the Merling King to the Vale, stopping at his meager inherited holdings on the Fingers for a few days. Lysa meets them there and insists upon marrying Petyr immediately. He reluctantly agrees, and after the wedding they travel to the Eyrie, where Petyr spends much of his time traveling from lord to lord and asserting his authority. Lysa names Petyr the Lord Protector of the Vale.[5][25]

In the Eyrie, Petyr notes that Sansa is growing into a beautiful young woman and that she looks very much like her mother Catelyn did at that age. In a quiet moment he takes that affection so far as to kiss her. Lysa witnesses the act, and in a fit of jealous rage attempts to kill Sansa in the throne room, nearly shoving her out the Moon Door. Petyr arrives in time to intervene, at which point Lysa breaks down crying. She accuses Petyr of not loving her despite all she had done for him. She reveals in Sansa's hearing that it had been Petyr who had convinced her to poison her previous husband, Lord Jon Arryn, to prevent him from sending her young son Robert away to be fostered, and that it had been Petyr who had convinced her to write a letter to her sister Catelyn, stating that Jon Arryn had been poisoned and that the Lannisters were responsible. Petyr temporarily soothes Lysa, assuring her that he has only ever loved one woman. He then adds "only Cat" and shoves Lysa out the Moon Door to her death. The killing is blamed on the singer Marillion.[25]

A Feast for Crows

Following Lysa's death, Petyr remains Lord Protector of the Vale, with Lord Robert Arryn as his ward. The six most powerful lords of the Vale respond by combining their forces, planning on removing Petyr as Lord Protector. Petyr gains Lord Nestor Royce as an ally by granting him the Gates of the Moon, stating it had been the desire of the late Lysa.[15]

During the parley with the Lords Declarant at the Eyrie, Ser Lyn Corbray behaves belligerently, going so far as to draw his sword, breaching guest right. Now holding leverage over the Lords Declarant, Petyr demands a trial period on his wardship over Robert. He notes to Sansa how fortuitous Lyn's action was, and Sansa correctly guesses that Lyn must be on his payroll. Petyr confirms this, and confides in Sansa how he plans to use this time as regent to eliminate, win over, or marginalize the lords who are currently against him, and to allow Lyn to use his supposed disgust for him to facilitate his joining, and covertly informing on, any conspiracy against the Lord Protector.[44]

Petyr arranges a marriage between Lord Lyonel Corbray and a merchant's daughter, and he then attends the wedding in Gulltown. With winter approaching, the Arryn court departs the Eyrie for the Gates of the Moon. Upon returning from Gulltown, Petyr states Cersei Lannister's leadership in King's Landing is bringing the Seven Kingdoms to ruin faster than he had anticipated. He informs Sansa that he means to marry her to Harrold Hardyng, the current heir of the young and sickly Robert Arryn, and help her regain Winterfell, her family's ancestral seat in the North.[45]

Petyr: Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game.

In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own. Sometimes they refuse to make the moves you've planned for them. Mark that well, Alayne. It's a lesson that Cersei Lannister still has yet to learn.[44]

If ever truly a man had armored himself in gold, it was Petyr Baelish, not Jaime Lannister. Jaime's famous armor was but gilded steel, but Littlefinger, ah ... Tyrion had learned a few things about sweet Petyr, to his growing disquiet.[7]

He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle ... but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she'd known at King's Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei's ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers.[15]